Alex Lee has released v0.8.0 of What is the Apple IIGS? Launcher, a suite of seven hard drive disk images with a single frontend for launching hundreds of Apple IIGS games.
While we don’t usually report each time a piece of software receives an update, this release is significant. Not only is it the first update since the launcher’s debut in 2023, but it adds a whopping dozen games:
- Bill Palmer
- Canal Meurtre
- Chips and Dips
- F1 Race
- GATE
- Runaway Robots
- Sensei
- Skate or Die
- Space Cluster
- Space Shark
- Test Drive II
- Tower of Myraglen
This update also includes game demos, such as Sword of Sodan, and self-running demos, including Jason Harper’s Polygonia and Fillmaze and Dagen Brock’s Happy Friday, totaling another 17 pieces of software. The full list of supported software can be found in this Google Sheet.
The updated launcher will also display a warning if a game requires a joystick and one isn’t connected, or if a game has compatibility issues with a ROM 3.
(EDIT: and a week later, v0.8.1 was released, featuring Time Pilot, color menus, and various bug fixes and optimizations.)
Future versions of the launcher will support tagging certain games as favorites; filtering content with mature themes; and enabling various game hacks and cheats.
Head to Ninjaforce to grab What is the Apple IIGS? Launcher v0.8.0.